Spring is in the Air (Hardwear Sessions)

By Will Meinen

Something magical happens in the mountains every spring. The temps warm up, the days are longer, and the possibilities are endless. Ice climbing, rocking climbing, alpine climbing, skiing, or biking. Whatever tickles your fancy.

A couple weeks ago we had planned to jumpstart the rock season by doing a quick road trip to Skaha. Located in the beautiful Okanogan Valley of British Columbia, Skaha is always a treat because of it summer-like temperatures (when the Rockies are still in full winter mode) and because of its beautiful granite cliffs (never take limestone for granite).

A day before leaving for Skaha, I had caught word that Fernie had gotten a foot of fresh snow and they were expecting more. I called Brent and asked him what he thought about a couple days of powder skiing before climbing granite in our t-shirts. He loved the idea, and that night we packed my truck with skis, goretex, goggles, rock shoes, and quickdraws.

We arrived in Fernie and had one of the most satisfying days of skiing that I had skied this season. Run after run of fresh pow-pow. We skied till our legs couldn't handle any more. We met with another friend in town and celebrated with a jug of beer. Dispite our plans to paint the town that night, we were all snoring logs by 8:30pm. When we woke up the next morning we were blessed with another foot of the good stuff, and another epic day of skiing followed. At the end of the day with a smile on our faces we loaded up the skis and continued our tour towards the Okanogan Valley.

When we arrived at Skaha, we were greeted by more friends and some great climbing. I smiled because I knew this was something special. God I love the spring! That night I shared the excitement of the magical moment around a huge campfire with an eclectic crew, tasty beers, and some guitars. Song requests were made and we did the best we could to keep the party going. The jam session went late into the night. Finally too exhausted, I crawled into the back of my truck and passed out. A 7am wake up call, a greasy breakfast, and a good cup of coffee and I was back at it the following day.

After a couple days my body needed some rest. After a couple routes in the morning I tossed my climbing pack into the truck and headed home. Although I was headed home, in my mind was already planning what to do next. Should I hit up Yamnuska for some early season rock? Should I head to the Icefield Parkway and get in a couple of long Alpine routes? Or should I try and cram a couple more ice routes in before it all melts? Choices, choices, choices. Yup. Spring is a great time in the mountains!